CODART, Dutch and Flemish art in museums worldwide

Form First

Exhibition: 11 June 2017 - 30 May 2021

The exhibition Form First will take place in the former, magnificent reception rooms of the Vanderkelen-Mertens family. They received guests here, held parties, and showed off their affluence and their curiosities. This is the ideal place to discover the domestic culture of the bourgeoisie. By looking at the functions, materials, and techniques of these objects, you can compare life then and now. How do you use a windmill cup? What is a samovar? When did we start eating with forks? And what were the stories you could tell with a fan?

A magnificent antique 17th-century chest of drawers is the symbol of the entire exhibition. M invites you to peruse the intriguing objects in its collection. Just like the eminent guest of the past, who were allowed to look in these drawers filled with shells, minerals, and precious trinkets.

Form First exhibition at M-Museum Leuven

Form First exhibition at M-Museum Leuven
Photo: Dirk Pauwels

 

Form First exhibition at M-Museum Leuven Photo: Dirk Pauwels

Form First exhibition at M-Museum Leuven
Photo: Dirk Pauwels